If you know me personally, you know I am rather passionate about biblical literacy, especially among women and families. Today, I hope that you can walk away with the same burning desires within your hearts; and within that; dig deeply into this study through April. I was reminded yesterday that scripture is a treasure, and when one seeks treasure it is often an all out endeavor. If you know the treasure is there, you will dig and dig and dig, driven by a confidence of what lies beneath. Let this be your relationship with the Word. Do not settle.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman...We are pausing here for the day.
The serpent, who indeed is a vessel harboring Satan at the moment, was more crafty than and other beast of the field. And he said to the WOMAN...
Satan did not target Adam directly. Why? We women like to really hem in here at times. I have heard it said, he had to go to Eve, she would be better for the conversation, or Adam was there, standing next to her idly listening...we do not actually know where Adam was other than the fact he was with her. The serpent never addresses him, and it is clear Eve did not bring up the serpent when she presented the fruit to Adam, she gave it to him, and he ate.
In the book, No Little Women, by Aimee Byrd; she writes, "In his malevolent shrewdness, Satan went for the woman. He went after Adam's gift from God, his bride. That was indeed a clever way to get to Adam. So it isn't surprising today that Satan goes after Christ's bride, his church, with the same distortion of God's Word."
Read that twice. Today we are pausing because I need to plead with you this season of preparation, as we journey towards Resurrection Sunday, to ask you to again pause and look at what is in your heart and mind, play list and book shelves. Proverbs 4:23,25 says Keep you heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life...Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Look up- where do your eyes immediately fall? On the world, on the commentary of social media, or on the path established by the Lord? Are you susceptible to lies from Satan? Are you easily washed to and fro with ideas that come from different religious parties because you are not saturated in the Word of God? Sometimes we can get so obsessed with what might be false that we study that more than the Word, but this should not be are strategy. Bruce says in banking they don't spend a ton of time on counterfeit money- why? Because they handle real money all day long. As they count, look and touch it, the tellers whip threw their job; till something hits their hand. And they pause- something doesn't seem right? Even if they can't identify the exact counterfeit, through their handling of the real thing they can tell a fraud. So too should be our hearts and minds. We should be literally so immersed in the Scripture that when deception comes our way; our conscience is pricked. This will NEVER happen if we settle for 5 minute devotionals with a 4 word scripture to start a 10 minute diatribe on self-help through Jesus your buddy. We are not to live as princesses waiting to be spoon fed scripture- we must boast as Paul and become slaves to Christ! That we give everything, that we recognize we are in a war; and that we do not allow ourselves to live life unprepared.
I am reading through the book of Job and something has really struck me. Job's daily obedience to the Lord in the beginning is why God chose him. Job was not a superstar. He was a godly, God fearing, God loving man. So when Satan wanted to test someone, God chose Job. Why? Because he was prepared. How many times do we find ourselves in tragedy and suffering and gasping out God where are you?! I ask, if we were in our Bibles every morning, living in prayer and obedience- when suffering hits- are we not then able to call out as Job does " For I know that my Redeemer lives!"
The serpent goes to Eve. Why? Was she the weakest? The least prepared? Maybe she was the more prideful of the two? Wanting to be even more like God, not content with the fact that she was made in the likeness of God? We do not know- but what we are told is that the serpent was the most crafty and he skips past Adam and goes to Eve.
Okay- why am I harping on this today? Because I am so deeply concerned for christian women. If you walk into a Christian bookstore- 80% of the books are geared towards women, Christian living and self help the Christian way. Why? Because that is what sells. The theological books have become a bore; because we have allowed ourselves to become satisfied with milk- never merging over into meat and bread. We are SO busy we don't have time to read, let alone study. We find ourselves, weak, whiny and wounded.
2 Timothy Paul writes about false teachers within the church- 3:2-5 talks about them, defining how they are..."lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people! " These are people IN THE CHURCH. This is the part that hits me... for among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of truth. (v 6-7) I gasped audibly when I read this. I have read it before I am sure- but this time it was a sucker punch. Was Paul able to see into the American Church's household 2000 years ago? Or has the strategy and struggle remained the same? The answer is both. The Word is living and active. But lets pause on this... those who creep into households and capture weak women...this is not an insult; its a warning. It is saying the enemies strategy to destroy weak women, those who are unprepared, or chose not to know, burdened with sin and led astray by various passions... Pause- seriously this is our major pause today- sit and write- what are your biggest sins and various passions that lead you astray? That rob you from time with God and fellowship with His church and His Word?
Always learning and never arriving at truth...THIS hit hard. There is SO much information available. You could spend the rest of your life reading about things that do not really matter. we live as people who feel highly enlightened but do we find ourselves here- learning a million things yet never arriving at truth? Scrolling through a million sites, a million you tube videos, a million blogs, while our Bible sits, dusted, unable to provide every good thing we need? Do we settle for false teaching pastors who tickle are ears instead of teaching through the whole counsel of God? We can get so engrossed with how many steps we take in a day without giving little thought to the God who ordains each and every one of them. That Christ sustains our breath to wake up and take them?
I know this seems very off target- but I cannot read through this, with a group of women, and not heed the terrifying truth of what we will read tomorrow; and why we must prepare today. When Satan whispers to you...Did God really say? Rather than fall; may we learn from the Master who taught us how to be prepared for this exact question in the wilderness- and answer with the same boldness as the Son of God... IT IS WRITTEN.
Amen and Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment